Fall bass fishing with Loaner' on Okatibbee Lake

By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
Nov. 7, 2003
Unusually warm temperatures have been more conducive to fishing than hunting this fall. Such was the case on a recent balmy Saturday morning on the reservoir. Instead of heading to the woods, we decided to make one last trip to the reservoir. It didn't take long to find out that the bass were still biting, as they have for the last two months on Okatibbee.
On this day I brought along my trusty dog (crankbait), to hunt for some bass. I usually like to cover a lot of ground, as the bass are continually on the move chasing shad. Crankbaits are my favorite choice when looking for bass. You can cover a lot of water at different depths real fast when working a diving plug.
I had already tied on my favorite crankbait, Loaner, in hopes of finding a nice bass. Old Loaner has been real productive for me this year. It's basically white with chartreuse and black markings and is made by Strike King.
Our first stop turned up nary a thing, so we started hunting for the bass with old Loaner. After going approximately 75 yards down the creek, old Loaner bowed up with a feisty bass. He had already found them. Before we got that bass into the boat we pitched out a marker buoy to mark the spot. Once we got the bass into the boat we made a few photos, released it and anchored the boat.
Stacked bass
For the next dozen or so casts old Loaner really gave those bass fits. In fact, we got a bite or bass on every cast. Cast after cast drew strikes. Suddenly I had a fish almost take the rod out of my hands. As the bass got closer to the boat I knew something was unusual. It felt like a good fish, but it didn't try to jump. "Must be a spot or hybrid," I spouted out.
Lo and behold when it finally came to the surface near the boat, we were really shocked. In fact, not only was there a spotted bass on my bait, but there was also a nice largemouth as well. Two bass on one lure. It just can't get any better than that. I had finally duplicated my father's feat from last year. He had caught two bass on a Devil's Horse during another trip to the "Dead Sea."
The bass were really schooled up tight and feasting on some unwary shad and also crankbaits on this day. After catching those bass, we switched tactics and started catching them on plastic worms. Color didn't seem to matter, although we did catch our bigger fish on the larger worms and specialty baits such as the new Zoom Hollow Hogs. This time of year the bass seem to prefer any shade of purple or red on area lakes. When they're stacked up, it really doesn't seem to matter about color, if you can just get that bait out in front of them.
Fall lunkers
When it comes to catching big bass in the fall, they are really hard to come by. With the help of a friend, and old Loaner, however, I have caught more than my share of big bass on the "Big O" this fall. In fact, I caught a bass over the slot the first time I used Loaner. On one recent trip I caught three bass over the slot while using the hot bait! During that trip, one of my bass was a personal best on Okatibbee. It was a huge framed bass for the reservoir and it weighed over 8 pounds on electronic scales. That might not be too big compared to some area pond-raised bass, but they just don't get much bigger than that on Okatibbee.
Old Loaner has turned out to be one of my best and favorite baits ever. Now before you think I'm crazy naming my crankbaits, I'll fill you in on the story. A friend of my mine actually named the bait. While on a trip to Memphis, he picked up a few lures at Bass Pro Shops and brought them back with him. After admiring some of the baits, he tossed me one to try out. Following my first fantastic trip with old Loaner, my fishing buddy made a trip to the reservoir with me.
We had just arrived at our first spot when he asked, "Where's that bait I loaned you?"
The old bait had earned itself a name and become one of my all time favorite crankbaits. I have "hunted" and caught a pile of bass this fall on old Loaner. And not only have I caught big fish and lots of them, I've also caught em two at a time.
Can it get any better than that? Well maybe, if my friend will bring me another Loaner. I could sure use another bait like that.